TATTOO REMOVAL OPTIONS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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According to recent data compiled by the Pew Research Center, some 45 million Americans now sport at least one tattoo on their bodies. No longer the sole domain of bikers, sailors, and unsavory characters, people from across the social spectrum are lining up to have images etched in to their skin, regardless of age, ethnicity or gender.

Some want to commemorate an event, place, or person, while others see their skin as a blank canvas for tattoo artists to work on. “Many tattoos are very thoughtful,” says Dr. Jon Mendelsohn, FACS of Advanced Cosmetic Surgery & Laser Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, “while others, well, not so much. When someone realizes the ink tribute they had done on their chest for their girlfriend Mary was more permanent than the actual relationship, which ended two years ago, the process of how best to get rid of it begins.”